


Worlds Collide

by xxoldlunchtop



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Black & White | Pokemon Black and White Versions
Genre: Kuroshipping - Freeform, M/M, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-08-12
Updated: 2013-08-24
Packaged: 2017-12-23 05:29:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/922558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xxoldlunchtop/pseuds/xxoldlunchtop
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After defeating Ghetsis and saving Unova, Touya returns home and refuses to leave his room. Cheren takes it upon himself to figure out why.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was a crisp autumn day when Cheren returned to Nuvema Town, much like the day he had departed his hometown to begin his journey almost a year before. In fact, it was a little eerie, how much the small town had not changed; like it had somehow stopped moving while he had been away. The only notable difference Cheren could see was the large, black dragon sitting next to Touya’s house.

Zekrom was all the proof Cheren needed. So, Touya was hiding out here after all. He was so predictable…

As he had grown accustomed to doing over the years, Cheren entered the house without knocking. Zekrom turned its head to stare as he reached for the knob, but otherwise seemed unthreatening as Cheren turned it and went inside.

Touya’s house always smelled like the French vanilla candles his mom liked to burn. Cheren had grown desensitized to the smell growing up, but after being away for so long, the scent seemed almost overbearing as it wafted through his nose. Normally, Ms. Black kept the house fairly clean, but as Cheren looked around he noticed that the coffee table was cluttered with magazines and empty cans of diet cola, multiple DVD cases were piled up on the TV, and pizza box had been left on the arm of the sofa, opened and displaying the half-eaten contents. In the kitchen, the sink was nearly overflowing with dishes. On the television screen, a heroin was telling her best friend all about some jerk she had just met; Cheren had no doubt that the two would end up paired together by the end of the film.

It was then that Ms. Black made her entrance from the master bedroom, wearing a pair of comfy cotton pants and a ratty pink bathrobe. Her hair was pulled up in about half a dozen large rollers, and her face was covered with a thick, green cream. Moisturizer, perhaps? Cheren had no idea.

“Cheren!” she gasped, staring at the boy with an alarmed expression. Cheren would have bet money that, under her facemask, Ms. Black was blushing.

“Hello, ma’am,” he greeted politely.

She smiled at him, holding her hand over her heart. “It’s been a while.”

“I’m sorry,” said Cheren. “I didn’t mean to surprise you.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” she chuckled, wandering over to her coffee table to clean her mess. “I’m the one who should be apologizing; if I had known you were coming, I would have tidied up a bit.”

Cheren shook his head, “That’s quite alright. It’s my fault, really. I should have called first.”

“You always were a polite boy,” Ms. Black said, her smile growing. Touya and his mother looked a lot alike, but the family resemblance was most apparent when they were smiling.

Cheren cleared his throat, “Is he here? Touya, I mean.”

Ms. Black nodded, “He’s up in his room. He’s been up there for about a week now.”

“What does he do all day?” Cheren asked. It was hard to imagine; ever since their journey began, it had difficult to get Touya to stay inside. All he wanted to do was go out and explore, and train his Pokémon.

“Beats me,” she shrugged. She was gathering up her empty soda cans now, struggling to keep them all cradled in her arms as she kept adding more. “He’s always in bed when I go up there to check on him. He eats the food I leave for him, but when I ask if he wants to do… well, anything at all, really, he says that he doesn’t feel well.”

“May I speak with him?”

“By all means.”

“Thank you,” Cheren said, giving her a polite smile before he headed up to Touya’s room. Like the living room, it was in a state of disarray, but this did not shock Cheren at all. Unlike his mother, Touya was a complete slob.  

Touya, just as his mother said he would be, was in his bed; a large, curled-up lump under his purple comforter with the lights off and the blinds closed. It was pathetic, really. _This guy_ was the great hero, who stopped Team Plasma and bonded with the legendary Pokemon Zekrom.

 _Tch, he always was a lazy one,_ Cheren thought, scowling as he opened the blinds with one swift tug. Touya groaned, burying himself deeper into his nest of pillows and blankets.

“Mom!” he groaned. “I told you, I don’t want to paint my toenails! I’m not in the mood.”

Cheren snickered, “You paint your toenails?”

“Cheren?” Touya mumbled, poking his face out from under the covers. To Cheren’s surprise, he was grinning. Not his usual, toothy smile, but Touya still appeared happy to see him. “You didn’t tell me you were coming…”

“I figured you wouldn’t want me to.”

Touya’s smile faded, “Why would you think that?”

“Because…” Cheren paused, pushing a pile of dirty laundry off of the desk chair before he sat down on it. “Because you have been incredibly anti-social lately. You never pick up your phone, or reply to my e-mails. People are starting to worry about you, you know.”

“Yeah, I know…”

“So what’s your problem?” Cheren asked bluntly. Touya obviously wasn’t in a talkative mood, there was no point in skating around the subject. “You defeated N and Ghetsis, Zekrom recognized you as a hero, you defeated the Elite Four-“

“Yeah _, I know_ ,” Touya repeated, tucking himself under the blankets again. He seemed content to not offer any explanation for his behavior.

Cheren could have slapped him. Touya had achieved everything Cheren had ever wanted, without even having to try. He was the hero, the best trainer in all of Unova. Everyone knew his name. Everyone looked up to him and revered him. And now here he was, squandering it all as if it meant nothing. If all Touya wanted to do was wallow around in his room, why did he even bother becoming a trainer in the first place?

“This is it then?” Cheren asked. “You’re just going to lock yourself up in here, and never leave again?”

“No…” Touya mumbled.

“Then what do you-“

“A man came to see me,” Touya interrupted. “He was with the International Police. He was dressed up like my mom and he gave me a fishing pole.”

“… What?”

“He wants me to help locate the Seven Sages of Team Plasma,” he elaborated. Cheren rolled his eyes; this type of haphazard explanation was fairly typical, but that didn’t make it any less tiresome. “Since they all… got a way after I battled N at the castle.”

 “And this is a problem because…?”

“Because I don’t wanna do it,” he replied, as if that should have been obvious.

“What do you mean, ‘I don’t wanna do it’?” Cheren echoed, frowning. This was a new level of lazy, even for him. “It’s your responsibility to-“

“Yeah, well maybe I don’t want all this responsibility.”

“Then what did you want?” Cheren demanded, his hands on his hips as he glared down at his best friend in frustration. “You have everything any trainer could possibly ask for!”

“ _I_ never asked for it!” Touya yelled at him, pushing his head out to glare right back. It was only then that Cheren realized that he had been crying. “I never asked to be a hero! I don’t wanna be one! I just wanted to go on an adventure with you and Bianca and have fun and train Pokémon! That’s it! I don’t want to be the hero anymore!”

Cheren’s glare intensified, his anger flaring. “It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”

“You should have been the hero, not me,” Touya said. “You’da been a good hero, Cherry.”

“Don’t try to change the subject,” Cheren said, flattered in spite of himself. Touya always seemed to delight in beating him in battles, and Cheren would be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy their friendly rivalry; at times it was the main force driving him to better himself. Not that he was ever able to beat him; Touya was just too good.

“I’m not, I was just sayin’… You’re hero material, I’m not.”

Cheren adjusted his glasses, already exhausted. It was strange, arguing with an already defeated-Touya was more tiring than arguing with him when he was actually trying to win. “Well, there’s not much you can do about it now.”

Touya just sighed.

Cheren leaned back in the chair. This wasn’t getting them anywhere. He needed to keep his original goal in mind: Cheer Touya Up At All Costs.

“… Hey,” Cheren said, when the silence got to be too much for him. “Do you want to go… I don’t know, what would you like to do?”

“What…?”

“We could go to the theme park,” Cheren suggested, though honestly that was probably on the bottom of the list of things _he_ wanted to do. “Or we could go see a movie, or-“

“Can we rent one and bring it back here?” Touya suggested. “I don’t wanna go showin’ my face all over the place right now.”

“Sure,” said Cheren. “We could do that.”

“Can we get cake, too?” Touya asked hopefully.

“Fine, fine…” A movie and a cake was a reasonable request. If that would cheer Touya up, Cheren was more than willing to comply. “Whatever you want, let’s just get going, before it gets too late.”

Smiling – really smiling this time – Touya crawled out of bed, and Cheren realized for the first time that his best friend was almost completely naked. There he was, standing in the middle of the room in all his glory, stretching out his arms and yawning, and all Cheren could do was stare.

He’d seen Touya shirtless before, sure, but it seemed that he had gained some muscle over the course of his journey. He’d grown taller too, by at least a few inches – how had Cheren not realized until now…? His legs were long and lean, his abs were toned, and a trail of hair lead down from his bellybutton to the elastic band of his underwear. Cheren blushed, his eyes following Touya’s hand as it moved downwards and scratched himself through his tightly fitted red briefs.

Once again, he felt a disgusting jealousy welling up inside him. Despite having taken the same journey, Cheren’s frame remained lanky and awkward, and he was pretty sure he hadn’t grown so much as a centimeter in the last year.

Touya made a thrusting motion with his hips that could only be described as obscene. “Heh, like what you see, Cherry?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Cheren huffed, his face flaring up as he turned away. He wondered why he hadn’t thought to do that in the first place. Staring was rude, after all, and it had accomplished nothing, except for giving Touya one more thing to tease him about. “Just put on some clothes so we can leave.”

 “I donno,” Touya said. “Maybe I should just go like this? Y’know, since you like it so much.”

“You’d be arrested for public indecency,” Cheren said, his eyes glued to the floor.

“Aww, you don’t think I’m decent enough?”

“Oh, for the love of- Just put on some clothes!”

“Okay, okay!” Touya laughed, pulling a pair of pants out of the heap of clothing next to his bed. He shook them out a few times before pulling them on.

“I hope those are clean,” Cheren said, daring to look up now that Touya was partially covered.

Touya pulled a t-shirt out of the same pile. “You’re the one who wanted me to wear clothes.” After he got it on, he ran his hand over his hair once before putting on his hat.

“That’s all you’re going to wear?” asked Cheren.

“No,” Touya said. “My shoes are downstairs.”

Cheren frowned, “I was talking about a jacket. It’s chilly out there, and it’s only going to get colder when the sun starts to go down.”

“Okay, _Mom_ , if you say so,” Touya said, grabbing his blue jacket off of the floor. “Can we go now?”

“You don’t need to get an attitude with me,” Cheren followed Touya downstairs, not done scolding him just yet. “I’m only looking out for you; you get especially whiny when you’re sick.”

“I do not,” the other boy argued.

“You’re unbearable.”

“Then how come you’d always come over and bring me soup or somethin’?” Touya asked, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I don’t trust you to take care of yourself properly in such a situation,” Cheren replied simply.

“I got Mom to do all that for me, y’know,” he said. “Why don’t you just admit you was worried about me? Or that you wanted to see?”

Cheren huffed at the accusation, “You would always make me ill, as well.”

Touya giggled, “You’re doin’ that thing.”

“What thing?”

“That thing you do,” said Touya. “Where you don’t wanna admit I’m right about somethin’, so you try to turn the subject all around.”

“I do no such thing!”

“You totally do.”

“Honey, quit arguing with Cheren,” Ms. Black interjected when the boys reached the living room. She had tidied up, but the overflowing amount of trash in the bin did not escape Cheren’s attention. He had a feeling that it would be gone by the time they returned home, and it would be as if the mess had never existed.

Touya sighed, tugging on his shoes without bothering to untie them first. “We were goin’ out to get a movie and some cake. Do you want anything while we’re at the store?”

She smiled sweetly, “No, I think I’m okay. Will you be gone long?”

“No, ma’am,” Cheren assured her. “We should be back before dark.”

“Aww, you’re so polite,” Mom said. “Take your time, boys. I’ll see you when you get back!”

Touya groaned as the door closed behind him, “Sometimes I think she likes you more than she likes me.”

“Nonsense,” said Cheren. “She’s just being nice.”

“Yeah, I guess…” Touya mumbled. “Hang on a sec, I gotta tell Zekrom where I’m goin’, or he’ll get antsy.”

“Take your time.” Cheren watched Touya approach the great black dragon. He decided to hang back, and let them have their privacy. One suspicious glance from Zekrom told Cheren he wasn’t completely trusted yet. The colossal Pokémon listened as Touya spoke to him, nodding along and finally leaning forward for a friendly pat on the head before Touya turned to leave.

“Alrighty, we can go now,” he said, grabbing Cheren’s hand as he took the lead towards Route 1.

“H-hey, what’s all this about?” Cheren stammered. Touya was usually affectionate, and Cheren didn’t mind a hug or two now and then. But holding hands in public? That was overdoing it.

“We're goin’ to get cake, remember?”

“I meant, why are you holding my hand?”

“Well… it’s a long walk,” he explained.

“It isn’t that long.”

“And it’s been a long time since we went this way,” he continued, ignoring Cheren’s protest. “I don’t want you to get lost.”

“I’m not an imbecile,” Cheren said. “And I certainly don’t need you to-“

But then Touya made that face. That ridiculously pitiful face, were his eyes seemed to double in size, and one corner of his mouth turned down into a half-frown, as if he was trying to prevent himself from looking upset, but couldn’t quite do it. It was so pathetic, resulting to tactics like pouting and puppy dog eyes to get his way.  Some hero he was.

“…Fine,” Cheren snapped, squeezing Touya’s hand reassuringly as he caved in. “But just this once, got it?”


	2. Chapter 2

Touya’s mood seemed to improve after they left the house. He didn’t talk much as they made their way up the trail to Accumula Town, but he did smile when a pair of playful Lillipups darted past them. He would squeeze Cheren’s hand gently every time he caught the other boy looking at him.

_Well_ , Cheren thought, squeezing back as they finally stepped off of the dirt path, and onto the concrete roads of the small town. _At least he isn’t moping anymore_.

He hated to admit it, but holding Touya’s hand was not as uncomfortable as he thought it would be. They had been best friends since early childhood – perhaps after you spend so much time with someone, small acts of physical intimacy just come natural?

It was only after they entered Accumula Town, and their presence began drawing the attention of others, did Cheren begin to regret allowing Touya to hold his hand. Whether it was because Touya was now a local hero, or because they were two men participating in a display of public affection, or both, Cheren wasn’t sure, but the attention was embarrassing regardless of the reason for it. People pointed, stared, leaned over to their friend to whisper, as if not being able to hear the gossip would somehow spare Cheren’s feelings.

He tried to tug his hand away, subtly so not to cause a scene, but Touya only tightened his grip, enough that it was almost painful. Cheren could only manage to stare down a few onlookers before the tension got the better of him, and he turned his gaze to the ground as he walked, allowing a seemingly oblivious Touya to lead him along. But, after everything he had been through, he was probably used to this sort of attention.

Cheren didn’t even realize they were at the bakery until the bell above the door jingled, and the sent of freshly baked pastries practically forced itself up his nose.

“Hello, boys~” the woman behind the counter greeted. An impractically tall chef’s hat covered most of her fading gray hair. Though Cheren didn’t exactly frequent the establishment, Touya had brought him along enough times that he recognized the woman. Her too sweet smile told Cheren that she recognized him, too.

“Hi, Edith,” Touya said, tipping his hat. It never ceased to amaze Cheren how polite Touya was to adults and strangers. After having years of exposure to… the other facets of his personality, it was an astonishing shift.

“The usual, I presume?” she asked.

Touya shook his head, “No, ma’am. We’ve got company tonight.” He held up Cheren’s hand, as if it were possible that she didn’t notice his presence. “I’m gonna need a whole cake this time.”

She laughed, leaning down to remove one of the expertly crafted cakes from the display case. The frosting was white as snow, and eight plump strawberries sat atop large, fluffy whips of the stuff. It was so beautiful, Cheren thought, that it was almost a waste to cut it up and eat it.

“It’s very impressive,” he said. Touya wasn’t the only one who could be charming, and Cheren wasn’t about to be outdone. “You must be a very talented chef.”

“Aww, thanks dear! I ought to be, after doin’ this for twenty years!” She placed the container into a disposable plastic bag. “Do you even like strawberry cake, Cheren?”

Cheren was surprised that the woman remembered his name. Had he ever told her? He couldn’t remember. He straightened his glasses with his free hand, clearing his throat before he spoke, “I don’t usually eat sweets, but I don’t mind them from time to time.”

Edith giggled, amused at his reply. “You were right, Touya. He is very serious.”

Cheren frowned, “Excuse me?”

“I’ll just… pay for that cake now…” Touya mumbled, reaching into his pocket frantically to find his wallet. Even though he was avoiding his gaze, Cheren could tell that he was blushing.

But if blushing was a contest – and as far as Cheren was concerned, most things relating to Touya were contests – Cheren would have won in the photo finish. “What does that even mean? You haven’t been talking about me, have you?”

“Oh, don’t worry dear,” she said, handing the cake across the counter. “This one’s on me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to get you in trouble.”

Touya accepted the gift reluctantly, muttering a _thank you_ as he grabbed the bag.

“What has he been saying about me?” Cheren demanded, livid at the very thought that Touya had been talking about him behind his back.

“Oh, it wasn’t a big deal,” Edith assured him. “Touya always says nice things about you… mostly.”

“ _Mostly?_ ”

“C’mon Cherry, Mom’s waitin’ for us,” Touya said, tugging Cheren out of the bakery by his hand. Cheren allowed him to do so, if only so he could escape his embarrassment.

“… Are you mad?” Touya asked, as soon as the door was shut behind them.

“Yes,” Cheren pulled his hand back, hard and sudden enough that he actually broke free from Touya’s grip this time. “You know how I feel about gossip.”

“It wasn’t gossip…” Touya pouted.

Cheren was too upset to let that sway him. “Then what would you call it?

“Talkin’,” he said. “Edith is my friend. I tell her lots of stuff about you. And Bianca, too. And everyone else.”

“I’m… still not sure-“

“You’re overreactin’,” Touya said bluntly.

“I am not overreacting,” Cheren argued, but the weakness in his tone betrayed him. He knew Touya was right. Why was he so worked up about this, anyway? Why did it matter that Touya was talking about him? They were best friends, of course Cheren would come up in Touya’s other conversations.

“… Are you still mad?” Touya asked again, after several moments of silence passed without any further arguments.

Cheren sighed, “No, I guess not.”

“Oh… alright.”

Cheren almost asked what Touya and Edith talked about, the kinds of things Touya said about him when he wasn’t around, but he decided against it. It would be hypocritical, and he had already made a fool of himself once. But still, he was curious…

“So… you wanna go get a movie?”

 “Yes,” Cheren nodded. “If we’re going to we should probably do it quickly; the sun is already starting to set.”

“Aww, you don’t need to be afraid after the sun goes down, Cherry,” Touya took his hand once again. “I ain’t gonna let nothin’ happen to you.”

 “That sentence was atrocious,” He wasn’t sure what was more embarrassing, Touya’s massacre of the English language, or the way he insisted on protecting Cheren as if he were damsel in distress.

Touya just shook his head, and led Cheren across the street to the only Redbox in town. Cheren had fully intended to let Touya pick the movie – after all, the entire point was to cheer him up – but as soon as his finger hovered over The Human Scolipede, Cheren cringed.

“No.”

Touya frowned, “Why not?”

“Do you even know what that movie is about?”

“Nope,” he said. “That’s why I wanna see it.”

“It’s a horror movie,” Cheren told him.

“So?”

“You hate scary movies. They always make you cry.”

“They do not!” Touya crossed his arms defensively. “Besides, if you’re there, I’ll be fine.”

“You’ve said that before, and then you didn’t sleep for a week.”

His frown deepened, “It wasn’t _that_ long…”

“Yes, it was. I remember, because I was the one you always called in the middle of the night.”

 “Well, I was scared…”

Cheren rubbed his temple, already tired of this fight. They had already had one public argument; Cheren wasn’t in the mood for another. “Just… pick a different movie, please? You will hate that one.”

“Alright, fine…” Touya sighed, returning his attention to the movie selection screen. It only took a few moments of browsing before another movie caught his attention. “What about Tangled?”

Cheren’s eyes narrowed, “Tangled?”

“What’s wrong with that one?”

“You have Tangled at home already.”

“So?” Touya shrugged. “I know I’ll like this one. Rentin’ a movie was your idea.”

“The whole point of renting a movie is to see something new!” Cheren shouted. “Or at least one you do not own already.”

“But you didn’t like the other one I picked out.”

“Because that movie is disgusting.”

“How do you know?” Touya asked. “Have you ever seen it?”

“…No,” Cheren admitted.

“Then how do you know you won’t-“

“Just… trust me, alright?” Cheren said. “Just this once, please take my word for it.”

“I always trust you…” 

Cheren sighed; great, just when he had started to cheer him back up, there was that frown again. And, to make matters worse, their argument had attracted a small audience. At least half a dozen people, watching them fight in front of the Redbox. Cheren could feel his ears burning with humiliation.

He tried to ignore the onlookers, sliding his credit card through the machine. “Just… pick a different movie, alright? Anything else would be fine.”

“Okay…” Touya picked a movie with a happy looking young couple on the front. A romantic comedy, probably. Cheren wondered why he wasn’t drawn to that one in the first place, since sappy love stories were usually Touya’s favorite.

Touya shoved the DVD case into the sack with the cake. “Thanks for payin’ for the movie, Cherry.”

“Don’t mention it,” Cheren shook his head. “Just make sure you return it on time. I will hold you responsible for any late fees.”

Half smiling, Touya extended his hand. “C’mon, Mom’s waitin’ for us.”

Cheren stared, not sure if he should take it. He knew the argument had been ridiculous, and he was at least partly to blame for losing his temper so easily. But Touya had kept it going. If he didn’t insist on being so disagreeable-

He stopped that train of thought, grabbing Touya’s hand. There was no point in dwelling on it. “Yes, I’m sure she’s wondering what’s taking us so long.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry that this one ended up being so short. The next chapter should be more like the first, as far as length goes.
> 
> If Unova is supposed to be in America, they totally have Redbox movie rentals. Right? Right.


End file.
